New Player Section

Draven

Draven

Pioneer
Hey guys!

So, one of the things I feel that really helps draw in new players is to have New Player oriented information to be as easy to find and simply laid out as possible. As a New Player Representative for Seattle, a few things I've discovered to be helpful is

1) The portrayal of staff as being friendly and understanding, which makes staff approachable.

2) Easy to access information that new players or potential players can read and review at their leisure. Some players are shy, and this helps them get started and only ask questions when they really need to.

3) Streamlined, basic rules introductions. While the ARB is an excellent, comprehensive source of knowledge, it can easily overwhelm new LARPers, or LARPers who are used to more simple rulesets.

I feel that creating a new section specifically aimed at this would be a good idea, and I wanted to know if this is something that others would agree with or not.
 
Id love to see easy access information and for a explanation of what would happen at a given first(for a new player) event ie setup(putting up props ect), then get into gear here is a list a newbie for your class type might bring to his first event, explanation of logistics, simple explanation of basic fighting, hit with 2 disease, swing 2 normal, swing 2 silver, potions, for a first time player you might get perks like spellshield what that does in laymens terms ect.

Information on how to apply to "View your character from participating chapter's database" on the forms and who I might ask how long it will take?
 
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Specific information about event logistics and what to bring will vary by chapter, so it wouldn't make sense for the national forums. A lot of this is better answered by local staff because the myriad questions a new player can ask renders the "quick and easy guide" approach moot. I say this as a former New Player Marshal who wrote a large portion of the FAQ section of the SoMN chapter's website.
 
OrcFighterFTW said:
Specific information about event logistics and what to bring will vary by chapter, so it wouldn't make sense for the national forums. A lot of this is better answered by local staff because the myriad questions a new player can ask renders the "quick and easy guide" approach moot. I say this as a former New Player Marshal who wrote a large portion of the FAQ section of the SoMN chapter's website.
Click to expand...

I'll disagree, but hear me out as to why.

What I'd like to see implemented is a section that specifically is labeled "New Players" from the main forum page. A lot of players join Alliance from word-of-mouth of current players...but not all do. Some do research, and they come to our page, and they don't know if there's a LARP in their area (I don't think people actually see the chapters until they're registered on the forums). Some chapters aren't identifiable to their location (Deadlands, etc).

So. I'd like this proposed section to be rather large, and would have the following:

1) Basic information that all new players should know (gear, basic rules, etc), broken down to simple levels.

2) Example new character builds., and examples of build expenditures.

3) Chapter locations, and key contacts for those chapters, maintained by whomever maintains this section (preferably New Player Representatives).

4) Chapter-specfic information that new players in that area should be aware of. Example: Alliance Seattle has unique racial packets for new characters in the current campaign. Additionally, Alliance Seattle has certain LCO rules that players should be aware of.

It would be easy to navigate for new players, meaning they're more likely to attend an event, rather than turn away because getting started can be confusing/intimidating.
 
As someone who regularly recruits and talks to new players in Michigan for the South Michigan and Traverse City chapters I agree with Evan that having a "New Player" option from the forum's home page would be greatly beneficial. Recently I have been providing players over and over again with the information that has been proposed to go in this section, such as basic information and examples of new character builds. (I actually have sample builds of at least one of each class with different races for them that has provided useful)
As for worrying about chapter specific rules, at the end of the section we can simply post for the new player to contact their chapter, which they should be doing regardless. I simply believe that the New Player option would be a great place to start for new players in terms of navigation.
 
As the New Player Representative for the Oregon chapter, I agree with @GenevieveAnn and @Draven -- a New Player section would be immensely helpful as a hub of information to give incoming players.

When I started playing, I had never LARPed in my life and finding information about how to get involved was not an easy matter. If it weren't for the fact that I am tenacious and kept bothering people, I wouldn't be playing today. I am always in favor of making information to our game easier to access for new players.
 
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